Best Registered Agent Services in Maine

If you want to open a business in the state, you will definitely need Maine registered agent services. A registered agent (RA) is an individual or an entity that will receive documents and correspondence on behalf of your company from government agencies. 

In the state of Maine, registered agents are called "commercial clerks."

Best Registered Agent Services in Maine

Under Maine law (Title 5: Chapter 6-A: Model Registered Agent Act, §114), a commercial clerk is required to:

• Maintain a physical street location within the state;
• Be available at the registered office during normal business hours to accept legal correspondence;
• This can be a home address (for individuals) or a company office (for businesses), not a P.O.Box;
• Receive documents on behalf of your business and timely forward official mail and every business document to the client;
• Upload all business documents into your online account and notify when such documents are prepared for viewing;
• Notify about your annual report due dates (optional);
• Update your contact information in a timely manner to ensure that state and judicial agencies can contact your company.

According to Maine Revised Statutes, nonprofit registered agents can also perform the duties of commercial clerks. Such a clerk must be an individual over the age of 18 that maintains a physical street location within the state.

This can be you (as a business owner), your family member, relative, co-worker, employee, friend, etc. Alternatively, this can also be a foreign or local business entity in the state of Maine that must offer RA services among other business formation services.

Commercial Registered Agent Maine Search: Company vs. Individual

When choosing a commercial clerk for an LLC in Maine, business owners seek to save money and, therefore, list themselves as registered agents in the Articles of Organization. Such a decision has obvious advantages:

• You don't pay anyone for RA services;
• You maintain a single address and phone number (your own contacts); 
• You get all official mail and legal/tax documents directly in your hands.

On the other hand, there are also downsides, which are often discovered already when your business is already running and you're acting as your own registered agent:

• Confidentiality. Your home address and phone number will be listed on the public domain (the Secretary of State's website);
• Junk mail and spam calls. Your personal contact data will be actively used for marketing purposes;
• Tough work schedule. You won’t be able to go on vacation, take a sick leave, or even go for a lunch break. You must be available at the office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

If even for the most seemingly valid reason, if you are unavailable for service of process at the right time, you will miss a lawsuit filed against your company and, consequently, skip the court hearing. Obviously, in this case, you will most likely lose the case.

Thus, make sure you choose the best registered agent service Maine wisely and thoughtfully. Only then you can proceed with the registration process.

Registered Agent in Portland, Maine

If you need to hire an RA in the city of Portland, you can choose from a wide range of options. The city has become Maine's economic capital and has Maine's largest port and the largest population in the state. 

Portland is also the administrative center of the county, so business activity here is intense.

Registered Agent in Augusta, Maine

Augusta is the state capital of Maine. Although the city is not even in the state's top 5 by population, business activity here is also booming. The state's governmental authorities and departments that deal with taxes, licenses, and permits are located in the city of Augusta.

You can open a company in any city in the state of Maine, whether it's Augusta, Portland, or Lewiston. At the same time, your statutory agent does not have to be located in the same city. By law, it must be located in the state, there are no other requirements.

National Registered Agents

And now let’s take a look at some of the best national registered agent providers.

Northwest Registered Agent

Cost: $125 per year

Northwest is widely known as one of the best registered agent services in the United States. The company offers the most user-friendly online platform, exceptional customer support, and a wide range of business formation services that will satisfy any client.

In addition, customers of the company will get professional assistance with business-related issues both at the registration stage and at any point in their business's life cycle.

Northwest Pros

• Efficient customer support service (dedicated Corporate Guides);
• Stable online platform operation and user-friendly website with a large library of business-related information; 
• Wide range of business formation services;
• The company staff includes highly qualified lawyers, accountants, and entrepreneurs; 
• More than 20 years of experience in providing business formation services; 
• Premium Maine registered agent services are relatively affordable at $125 per year; 
• Free year of registered agent services (if you register your business through Northwest);
• A large number of positive customer reviews;
• Same-day document scanning with no restrictions on quantity or type.

Northwest Cons

Despite the high quality of the company's work, some aspects can be categorized as disadvantages:

• It’s not the cheapest registered agent service online, although most of them will have a lower objective value compared to Northwest;
• Corporate Guides always try to answer each question in as much detail as possible. It is not always required when you need a quick answer to a specific question.

Northwest Overall

Northwest provides a wide range of options related to Maine registered agent services:

• Receiving documents on behalf of your business;
• Corporate email account for your business;
• Limited access to your personal data;
• Free limited document forwarding (5 documents per year for free);
• Convenient online storage and immediate access to your business documents, etc.;

Northwest will be the best solution both at the initial stage of your business formation and later on. The quality-price ratio here is simply excellent. So if your Maine LLC or corporation searches for a commercial clerk, you should definitely include the company in your list.

ZenBusiness Registered Agent

Cost: $99 per year

ZenBusiness specializes in providing LLC formation services and can help you create one for only $49 (excluding state filing fees). The basic package of the company also includes a free year of registered agent services, accountant advice, and more.

After analyzing Maine registered agent reviews, it becomes quite obvious that ZenBusiness has earned a high level of customer confidence and today, has a positive overall reputation.

ZenBusiness Pros

• Affordable registered agent services at $99 per year (standalone service);
• Annual report service in all plans;
• Numerous positive customer reviews;
• Fast, responsive, and user-friendly customer support;
• Quality business formation services and additional options within an affordable price range;
• A free year of registered agent support (if you form a company with the help of ZenBusiness). The service will then (after the first year) auto-renew at $119/year;
• Extended customer support working hours.

ZenBusiness Cons

• Additional features are pricey and not very useful (e.g. finding a business credit card);
• Registered agent services are not the main priority of the company. You will get basic RA services, but you shouldn't expect something special.

ZenBusiness Overall

The company deserves its respectable second place on the list of the most reputable business formation professionals and registered agents in the state of Maine.

ZenBusiness's competitive edge is a free year of registered agent services in its basic-tier package. However, if your business needs something more than the bare minimum from a commercial clerk, you might want to consider other options.

Harbor Compliance Registered Agent

Cost: $99 per year

Harbor Compliance will be a wise choice if the annual cost of services is critical to you. Compared to Northwest, Harbor Compliance's services cost $26 less.

Harbor Compliance Pros

• Easy interaction with the company's website;
• The single service package for easier management;
• Excellent customer service and high speed of processing customer requests;
• Beneficial discounts and extended RA contracts;
• Wide range of service options;
• Free year of RA services (if you order the company's business formation package);
• The affordable annual cost of RA services ($99/year);
• Personal account manager for the project.

Harbor Compliance Cons

• Pricey services ($399 formation package);
• The company does not provide guidance on management solutions;
• The customer service staff will not assist in completing reports, accounting, and other business-related processes for startups.

Additionally, documents are scanned and sent at the discretion of employees, while Northwest forwards all correspondence to its clients. The company's suite of services is sufficient for most businesses but not for everyone.

Harbor Compliance Overall

If it weren't for Northwest's performance, Harbor Compliance could claim one of the leading positions. You can count on personalized customer service, fast processing times, and high-quality basic RA services.

If you are not looking for any special additional options, the company can be your best choice. if the price is more important to you than any additional benefits.

LegalZoom Registered Agent

Cost: $299 per year

LegalZoom is another popular registered agent service provider in Maine. The company provides a full package of formation services for businesses, including reminders on due dates, unlimited cloud storage for your documents, access to a compliance calendar, etc.

Moreover, LegalZoom offers $1 million in identity theft protection and credit monitoring.

At the same time, LegalZoom's RA services cost $299/year, which is one of the most expensive options on the market.

LegalZoom Pros

• Largest business support service in the United States;
• Most comprehensive list of services for businesses under federal law and each state's regulations;
• Reliable protection of confidential information of clients from content leakage and theft;
• Legal support with a personal business advisor as part of the registered agent service;
• Unlimited cloud storage for business documents; 
• Access to compliance calendar;
• Wide experience and a huge client base.

LegalZoom Cons

• There are plenty of both positive and negative reviews about the service;
• High cost of registered agent services ($299 per year);
• Registered agent services are not included in the basic package;
• The registered agent is not the core service of the company.

LegalZoom Overall

For those who seek privacy protection, premium customer service, and reputation enhancement through cooperation with one of the most famous services in the U.S., LegalZoom can be the most optimal solution. 

As a client of the company, you will know that your personal data is under protection and insured. In addition, the company has a great reputation and is widely known across the country.

Rapid Registered Agent

Cost: $100 a year 

Rapid provides RA services in all 50 states, as well as in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The company is most popular due to its easy access to information online, multiple notification options, and a variety of pricing options with optimal packages. 

Rapid Pros

• Fixed annual fees;
• No additional or hidden charges;
• No unnecessary services are imposed;
• Free text messages, emails, storage of documents, faxes, document preparation, end-of-year fees, cancellation fees, etc;
• 24/7 online access in each state;
• Free notifications about receiving any official documents or service of process (by text messages, phone calls, or emails);
• Advice from Maine document management professionals;
• Easy management of an unlimited number of companies from a single dashboard;
• Customer service is available nationwide.

Rapid Cons

• Comparatively few reviews of the company's work, given that the service has been registered since 2007.

Rapid Overall

Rapid Registered Agent provides a wide range of additional services for its customers. It also does not charge for text notifications and gives the opportunity to use auto-fill forms for large volumes of correspondence.

Thus, we can say that company's offers look quite attractive overall. Still, it's worth remembering that there are quite a few reviews about the company, and therefore, there may be some surprises in the process of cooperation.

Rocket Lawyer Registered Agent

Cost: $149.99 per year (possible discounts)

Rocket Lawyer provides registered agent services Maine, as well as professional legal help. The company positions itself as a business formation service with easy and convenient access to a wide range of legal services.

Therefore, if you not only need the help of a commercial clerk but also an experienced lawyer on an ongoing basis at a good price, Rocket Lawyer can be your best choice.

Premium members will get free legal and attorney services, incorporation filings, a 25% discount ($111.99) on registered agent services, assistance with filing a DBA, preparation of Articles of Organization, and operating agreements under state law.

Rocket Lawyer Pros

• A wide range of professional legal and attorney services in each US state;
• An abundance of positive feedback from customers;
• Professional preparation of legal documents;
• Phone App. The website is fully optimized for mobile devices via a special app (Android/iPhone);
• User-friendly website with a simple navigation system (easy preparation of documents, an intuitive form builder, the Document Defense feature, FAQs, etc.);
• Online Q&A. Fast and responsive legal support with the help of "on-call" attorneys;
• Great discounts and free attorney services for Premium members;
• Free 7-day trial period ($39.99 per month after the free trial).

Rocket Lawyer Cons

• Registered agent services for non-members cost $149.99 per year, which is more expensive.You will get the benefits only if you order the premium membership plan;
• Credit card information is required at signup;
• If you simply need basic LLC filing services, the company will still offer you attorney services and legal documents, which can be considered unnecessary.

Rocket Lawyer Overall

Rocket Lawyer's offers are attractive to those looking for professional attorney services, including professional legal support. As for Maine registered agent services, the company offers them at $149 per year (for non-members).

Rocket Lawyer's clients can expect a perfect experience with the company as it offers easy preparation of documents, an intuitive form builder, a Document Defense feature, and useful FAQs.

SunDoc Filings Registered Agent

Cost: $159 per year

During your Maine business registered agent search, you can come across SunDoc Filings. The company provides nationwide filing and retrieval services to various businesses, including law firms, CPAs, startups, and small businesses.

With SundDoc Filings, you can form and run a business in Maine, as well as in any other state within a few days (expedite service available). The company will provide immediate and secure access to your formation documents in the private network.

You will also be able to use customized reporting tools and view service of process history (if any) from anywhere 24/7. SunDoc Filings will take care of your important legal and tax documents on behalf of your company.

SunDoc Filings Pros

• Volume discounts on RA services for multiple states and entities;
• The company has the status of a national registered agent and provides professional nationwide RA services;
• Est. 1999. The company has already helped thousands of businesses far beyond California (over 100,000 filings);
• Same-day processing of documents and beneficial discounts when serving multiple locations of the same business in different states;
• Useful training materials and other informational resources;
• High level of customer support service.

SunDoc Filings Cons

• The annual fee for Maine registered agent services is $159, which is slightly higher than that of competitors. 

SunDoc Filings Overall

SunDoc Filings provides instant mail forwarding, scanning of documents, as well as uploading and storing them in the cloud. The company will timely notify you about important events or statements related to your business.

Maine Registered Agent Review: Conclusion

Your Maine registered agent for service of process should be as reliable as possible, and the process of cooperation should be comfortable and efficient. At the same time, it's important to evaluate the quality and range of RA services in a complex.

Therefore, Northwest Registered Agent is ranked #1 on our list. This company offers affordable RA services at $125/year, exceptional quality of business formation services, and a list of additional features, which is really impressive.

During our Maine registered agent search operations, our experts have also noticed cheaper RA services (as part of business formation packages), with a minimum price of $49 per year.

Here are some of the reasons why such companies didn't make it into our top ranking:

• The company’s offers have significant limitations, including the limited number of documents that can be scanned and uploaded to a cloud repository;
• If you need more documents processed, you'll have to order an additional service and still end up paying $90-100 per year;
• The company offers lucrative and quite attractive terms but has less than 5 years of experience in the field, as well as a small number of customer reviews.

The cases above forced us to exclude a few options from the list. If you wish, you can always explore RA services independently but remember that in such a case, your own registered agent might require additional control.

Benefits of Using a Maine Registered Agent Service

Commercial registered agent services in Maine provide a wider list of advantages to businesses, compared to individual RAs or small business formation companies that offer basic services at a minimal cost.

That said, if you choose a commercial RA, you will get the following benefits:

• Reliability. A time-tested professional registered agent with a good reputation is a guarantee that you will not have to worry about missing important info;
• Legal support. Such an agent will provide professional support, legal tax advice, accounting consultations, and so on;
• Cloud storage. Your business documents will be immediately scanned by the company and uploaded to the cloud for safe storage;
• Corporate calendar. This service automatically reminds you of timely reports, due dates on your taxes, and other important dates.

If cooperation with your chosen RA company becomes unsatisfactory, you can always change your registered agent for LLC in Maine. For this, you need to reach agreements with the new company and notify the state government of the change of your RA.

The state of Maine has its own form for each type of business to notify of a change of a registered agent. You can choose the one you want by visiting the Secretary of State's website.

Mail to:

Secretary of State

Division of Corporations, 

UCC and Commissions

101 State House Station 

Augusta, ME 04333-0101 

The filing fee is $35.

Best Main Registered Agent Review: How We Choose Services

We constantly research well-known registered agent companies, check the relevance of their offers, and try to find new providers in Maine and beyond to add them to our list of companies for further analysis.

Each of the companies in the list is rated according to the following parameters:

• The cost of registered agent services;
• The range of additional business formation services and features included in the package;
• The cost of standalone services of the company;
• The availability of discounts, bundles, or free offers;
• Convenience and informativeness of the website, including personal account features and the relevance of information on prices and services of the company;
• Customer support service skills and competence, including responsiveness, efficiency, upsells or imposed services, politeness, etc;
• The reliability and convenience of the cloud repository, etc.

As a result, each company receives a certain number of points. Based on those, we choose the best service providers to include in the review, and the rest are added to the overall ratings.

Why You Can Trust Our Choice

Our company has been analyzing and collaborating with other business services companies in the United States for many years. We have experienced accountants, lawyers, analysts, and other experts in the business formation industry.

We know what parameters require special attention and how to identify hidden fees. We also assess the competence of company consultants in different states, including Maine. This is why we are able to draw unbiased conclusions.

Conclusion

We hope that our review will help you find your Maine registered agent. If you have any doubts about this or that RA service, remember that you have the right to change your registered agent at any time. The main thing is to fill out the appropriate form correctly and pay the fee.

In some situations, it's not even worth waiting until the end of the year, as advantages and the absence of risks will fully compensate for your expenses.

FAQ